Sunday Section

New Delhi, 10 April 2013

Maha Kumbh Mela

CAPTURING INCREDIBLE INDIA!

By Sabina Inderjit

Incredible India. Indeed! In many more ways than just a brilliant catchy slogan to draw the foreign tourist to this nation of over a billion people. There is no denying that the tourist inflow is on the rise, obviously a sign of the videshi (foreigner) finding it incredible. But what is even more incredible is that India can be incredible to Indians too. At least it is for me now, after having mingled with the teeming millions at Allahabad’s Maha Kumbh Mela, popularly described as the biggest religious congregation on earth. Though the 55-day mega fair (mid-Jan to mid-March) got rave reviews, it was much more than just an event. Looking back, it showcases a fascinating side of India. The experience is worth sharing in the hope there would be some converts.

Having gone there for jusat a-day-and-a-half, I wanted to partake as much as I could of the festive religious fervour. The moment I stepped out of media camp after a brief rest, I found myself instinctively following the crowds. There were people everywhere. Living in Delhi I thought we knew what the word ‘crowds’ meant. But we don’t. Just imagine or visualize the entire city, 20 million-odd people, showing up in one day at the banks of the Yamuna to take a dip at the same time. Incredible?

In Allahabad it was so, specially on the most auspicious day of Kumbh, Mauni Amavasya, which comes once in 144 years. Given the belief that a holy dip on this day would wash away the sins and even give the soul freedom from rebirth, it seemed that the whole world had descended there. The grounds were overflowing with people that morning. From atop the media tower it was literally a sea of humanity till as far as one could see. Incredible sight!

The magnetism further being that the swamis, sants, sadhus of various akharas (sects) would be out in the grounds in processions one after another and commence the Shahi Snan (Royal bath) with sunrise. The processions seemed never ending—like the diversity of sects there can be. The ascetics (some naked, with ash smeared all over, others in white or red or different shades of saffron robes, with marigold garlands, carrying flags, idols, under colourful chattris  etc) and their followers on foot, in colourful tractors, Innovas, chariots, on even horseback came and conquered the moment. Saffron, white, yellow, red were the colours splashed all around and the loud sound of drums, chants and full-throated slogans reverberated. En route and back to their camps the ‘holy’ men would showered blessings on the waiting crowds on either side of the enclosures. The atmosphere was incredibly electric and devotional. One indeed captured India’s incredible “unity in diversity”.

Millions of rustic village and town folk had converged in one place. They traveled hours/days in jam-packed trains, walked miles with their meager belongings on their heads to their destination, cooked and slept on the cold ground, took that holy dip at the Sangam (confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati) even in the chilly night or wee-hours of the morning at the various ghats and yet looked content and at peace. And, there were thousand others who flew down to Allahabad, stayed in luxury tents and rubbed shoulders with the ordinary folk to perform the same ritual. Different worlds had become one. Incredible. 

The novelty of the atmosphere around was sheer captivating. I didn’t even realize that I had been walking around for hours rather energetically, whereas in the city I would have been behind a wheel. What struck me was the semblance of order—the people moved to and fro on their respective sides. One didn’t need road dividers or policemen to enforce the order. It was instinctive self-discipline. There was no pushing or jostling, as I had feared given the mammoth crowds. I only had to watch out for not losing my friend. I wasn’t the only one. Around me there were numerous others— the women and men clutching on to each others saree or kurta or holding hands, or following the leader’s flagpole. Even taking the holy dip was in order, wherein it was just a couple of seconds so as to make way for the others to do the same. India in order. Incredible.  

This apart, it was utterly amazing to see people patient, tolerant and willingly accommodating. There was no scrambling for space despite each wanting to reach the bathing ghats at the Sangam for that holy dip or for that matter those who made the grounds their basera (habitat), cooking, eating and sleeping under the sky or those who used the bamboo logs forming enclosures to dry their wet clothes. There were no brawls and no aggression. Incredible.     

It wasn’t just the general public which displayed patience and tolerance. So did the officials and the policemen. Barring some instances when the uniformed men and women got tough with the crowd to make way for the sadhus’ processions, who had to take their holy dip, they were by and large cooperative and helpful. In fact, announcements on the public address system in the mela grounds kept reminding them of their duty of serving the public! And, they were obliging and helpful. A welcome change from the all-powerful officials and men in uniform in the country’s capital Delhi. Incredibly refreshing. 

Undeniably, it was a big challenge to ensure that all goes well while receiving and handling over 80 million people from around the country and some from abroad in less than two months at the same place. The Uttar Pradesh government and particularly the mela administration team deserve three cheers for the arrangements made at such a massive scale. The 60-km area sandy grounds had been converted into a small township. There were tented camps, huge enclosures for different akharas of the sadhus with religious motifs on the facade, government exhibition grounds, local bazaar with the usual clothes, trinkets, toys and what not, food stalls, entertainment area, police booths, fire brigade station, ambulances, a Lost People’s Enclosure, et al.  

The official website stated that the administration had provided “18 pontoon bridges, 25,000 toilets and 4000 urinals, 73 power sub-stations and 770 km long temporary power lines, 1,30,000 private power connections, 22,000 street lights. It had widened and strengthened 350 km long roads and constructed 155 km long checker plate roads in the mela area, hospitals, water supply….” While the State government got crores of rupees as Central assistance for Kumbh preparations, which could be debatable, the fact is that the politicians and the bureaucracy delivered. The Indian system seen largely to be mired in corruption and red-tapism can work. Incredible.    

What was also striking was the cleanliness around, in proportion to the mammoth crowds.  Barring the dust, one was not walking through heaps of filth or holding one’s nose to block the stench of stale garbage or overflowing urinals, as I have found myself doing in many parts in Delhi, even spoilt New Delhi. The mela grounds were being tended by an army of safai karamcharis—on the job 24/7, sweeping streets, the grounds and putting away litter in garbage chutes, which were regularly cleared. The public too displayed the oft-missing cleanliness awareness. Perhaps, it had something to do with the sanctity of the Kumbh mela or perhaps it was one such occasion the Indians chose to be at their best in their home country. Clean India. Incredible.

The evening offered more of the unique India I had become a part of. I sought to go around different camps to get ‘enlightened’ about the sadhus and sants way of life. I sat with the Naga sadhus -- devotees of Shiva, who have matted hair, are naked with ash smeared on their bodies, smoke grass, are the most photographed and hold a reputation of being aggressive at times. Theirs is a different world and I am happy in mine, for the moment. Nagas say they live like their predecessors used to some 4,000-odd years ago. Today, they are not rebelling against social rules rather it is the society, which through centuries, has gone far away. At the same time, however, they use Internet, smart phones, computers, travel by cars and airplanes and seek euros or dollars as dakshina (offering). A paradox? Not in India, where past and present meet, fit well and grow parallel. Incredible.

Ludicrous as it may sound, but in less than 48 hours, the Kumbh Mela simply changed my perspective of India. No longer would it be an enigma wherein: both New and Old Delhi comprise the capital of a contemporary India, the biggest democracy on earth has a feudal society, where marriages are still widely arranged around the caste system, the country of Bangalore’s ‘silicon valley’ has a countryside without electricity and water, of Bollywood stars earning millions and of over 700 million who live life with just $1 a day, of Nobel Prize winners and of others who burn brides for dowry or rape women in city buses. Incredible?

My country lives the XXI century in its own way. There are Naga sadhus and there are the modern brand-conscious Indians from cosmopolitan cities who too go to the Ganges, ‘cold and polluted’ to take a holy dip. I did too. Not in the belief that it would wash away my sins. Something made me do it and something told me the Ganga was not polluted ... Incredible.

Kumbh mela is an experience of a lifetime. It is not just a fair. It made me see, feel and touch the real India, incredible India. Not its cities, monuments, Bollywood films, scenic beauty, elephants or snake charmers but its spirit —the people. It is their strength of faith and belief which keeps it going through centuries along the same road. Against all odds. In the same direction. ---INFA       

(Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)